Emcee of the Month: MF Doom

I love this video.

3rd Base feat. Zev Love X (a.k.a. MF Doom) - "The Gas Face" Yes. That last cat to rhyme is, in fact, MF Doom.

So why am I posting a 3rd Base video from 1989? Well for the uninitiated, the emcee we now know as MF Doom started his hip hop career as Zev Love X, a member of early 1990s rap group KMD (Kausing Much Damage). This record with 3rd Base was Doom's recording debut, leading to KMD's first album Mr. Hood.

More than anything else, however, is that I wanted to show MF Doom's face. Since 1997, he has rarely allowed himself to be photographed without his mask. It's true that Doom's reluctance to have his face be seen has led to the interest and mystique surrounding his work. Much of that reluctance seems to be a direct result from the sudden and untimely death of his younger brother and fellow KMD member DJ Subroc. During the period after his brother's death in 1993 and the Operation: Doomsday release in 1999, Doom's transition from Zev Love X to the man with the metal face took place during a self-imposed three-year exile, resurfacing at New York's famed Nuyorican Café open mics in 1997 (performing with stocking over his head). He descirbed his retreat as a period of "recovering from his wounds" and swore revenge "against the industry that so badly deformed him." Therefore, I feel it's both interesting and appropriate to see the man he was before the mask.

peace.

Do the Bus a Bus

I was too young and too busy tinkering with my bicycle to notice when Leaders of the New School practically broke up on camera during an episode of "Yo! MTV Raps" in 1993. But I wasn't too young to be completely spellbound and ignited with primal exuberance when I first heard "Woo Hah! Got You All in Check" on the radio in 1996. Everyone I knew was going out of their minds over this track! I don't think hip hoppers had shouted and jumped around that much since 3rd Base dropped "The Gas Face". It wasn't long after that when Busta Rhymes solidified his place in my top 10 favorite emcees.

Busta is one of the most unapologetic, relentless, aggressive, amplified, and explosive voices in hip hop. His characteristic vocal abrasion matched with his ability to rattle off lines like a roofer with a nail gun allows him to rhyme with a cannonball-like impact. He purposely throws the listener of balance; it's not supposed to be comfortable listening to him rap. It's supposed to incite a riot.

Over the years, Busta Rhymes has found more range and variety in his performance. He discovered a sense of delicacy and sophistication with his collaboration with Janet Jackson on "What's It Gonna Be?!" in 1998. On the 1997 single "Dangerous" he explored some of his more playful impulses. But throughout all of his work his edge has remains, which will always be the most enduring and dynamic element of his music.

Here's a clip of Busta's recent collaboration with Kanye West and Jay-Z called "H.A.M."

peace.